Jaci McCormack poured in 18 of her career-high 27 points after halftime to lead four players in double figures as Illinois State beat Indiana State 80-76 in overtime in a Missouri Valley Conference game Sunday at Hulman Center.
Taren OBrien, who had 19 points and 6 assists before fouling out in overtime, hit the first basket for Illinois State in the extra period and McCormack hit the second as ISU sprinted to a 76-68 edge with 1:37 left on Chris Kutschinskis layup. But the Sycamores roared back to within a basket on Kristen Weddles free throws with 26 seconds left. McCormack hit a pair three seconds later and Melanie Boeglins layup closed the gap to 78-76 with 15 seconds left. Beth Hustons free throw with 13 seconds left put Indiana State on its heels and Katie Donovan finished off the Sycamores with another free throw with 3 seconds left, giving the Birds had their first win in Terre Haute since 1997.
The Redbirds 15-8, 9-5 in the Valley , won their third overtime game in three tries this season. Donovan, who matched her season low with 11 points, had a season-high 13 rebounds. Zora Skrabalova added 10 points before fouling out in the second half.
The Sycamores 14-9, 8-6 in the Valley, got 16 points from Stephanie Lisch to lead four in double figures. The win gives Illinois State four straight victories, including a sweep of three straight conference road games for the first time since the 1989 Gateway Conference Championship team. It also assures the first winning season for Illinois State since 1996-97.
The Redbirds trailed from the 18th minute of the first half to the final 10 minutes of the game and were down 40-27 with 16:13 left in the game before starting a 20-6 run which gave the visiting team a 47-46 lead with 9:10 left on two Donovan free throws. Redbird coach Robin Pingeton wasnt sure how her team would come out.
We were down 13 and the ship was in danger of going under, but our kids bounced back, said Pingeton. I felt like we were in a boxing match for 40 minutes.
But the bench chipped in, especially Kutschinski who hit 4 of 5 shots for a career high eight points and stiffened the Redbird defense.
Chris was huge coming off the bench, said Pingeton. Eight points in 18 minutes is a credit to her. She puts team before self every day in practice. She has worked on her shot every day and really put it all on the line today.
Cold shooting plagued the Redbird offense from the start, with just 10 of 32 in the first half and 2 of 16 from three-point range. The Birds, averaging 20 free throw attempts per game, didnt shoot their first free throw until the 9:52 mark of the second half. but still managed 19 of 26 the rest of the way.
Anne Thatchers three pointer with 6:04 left got the Sycamores ahead 58-51 before OBrien hit back-to-back shots to start a 12-5 Redbird run which tied the score 63-63 on McCormacks three from the corner with 1:29 left. Each team made two free throws the rest of the way leading to overtime.
The Redbirds return home to play league leader SMS at 8:05 p.m. Thursday in Redbird Arena. The special starting time fits in with Illinois High School Association festivities earlier in the day.
